Baby Girl
by SonomaCurtis
Summary: How would life on the Ponderosa have been different if a daughter had been born among the boys? OCxHoss OCxSam Kirby
1. Chapter 1

Ben Cartwright smiled at his wife. June Cartwright tried to smile back. But a scream stopped her. Ming Su chattered away in Chinese. Ben wasn't worried though. He had been by the sides of three of his past wives while they had given birth to his other sons. No problems had arisen. Ben expected this one to be no different. Why should it be?

Suddenly there was a new cry in the room. Ming Su wrapped up the baby in a little blanket and carefully handed it to Ben.

"You have a little girl." She said. Ben turned to show June, but was surprised to find her asleep so soon after the birth.

"June?" Ben asked and used his free arm to lightly push on her shoulder. June's arm fell limply off the side of the bed. Ben's smile fell from his face. Ming Su felt for a pulse frantically.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Cartwright. I'm so sorry." She apologized. Ben Cartwright looked at her.

"Don't worry, Ming Su. You didn't do this. She-she just...it was her time." Ben choked out. Quickly he left the room. Once in the hallway he stopped and leaned back against the wall. The baby in his arms blinked up at him. Not a sound came from her. Ben smiled sadly. Gently he hugged the infant to him, wanting to be as close as he could to the last piece of June that he had.

"Pa?" Asked a small voice. Ben turned to see his two eldest sons, Adam and Eric, or Hoss. "Is that our little brother?" Adam questioned. Ben smiled and knelt so that his sons could see their sister.

"No, this is your little sister." Ben corrected. Hoss' eyes lit up.

"What're ya goin' ta name her, Pa?" He asked excitedly.

"I don't know." Ben answered. "What do you think we should name her?"

"Well, I always thought that if I was born a girl, I'd want to be named Phyllis." Hoss said after some thought.

"Or Philadelphia." Adam offered. Hoss nodded with enthusiasm.

"Okay, Philadelphia June Cartwright it is then." Ben announced. The least he could do for his late wife. Tomorrow, he would give a small funeral.

Fourteen years later

"Now, Philly!" Hoss shouted at his little sister. He tried to heft himself over the fence to catch up to Philly, but found he couldn't. As he ran all the way around to the gate, Philly carefully mounted the mustang and gripped the reins as it went wild. Ben Cartwright jogged up to the scene and, at the sight of his daughter on a wild horse, began to shout and run to the corral. But by time he got there, Philly had the horse trotting about domestically. Ben jumped the fence and ran to the horse.

"Philadelphia! You could've been killed!" He scolded. Philly smiled at her father.

"Do I get to go with you and Adam to Virginia City?" She asked. Ben's angry expression was replaced by a half smile.

"Alright." He finally consented. Philly yee-hawed and dismounted. Happily she kissed her father's cheek and ran back to the house.

"Adam! Joe!" She called. Her older brothers came out from inside the house.

"What is it, Philly?" Adam asked.

"I'm goin' with you to Virginia City today!" She crowed happily. Joe chuckled.

"Not like that you're not." He said, motioning to the dirty britches his sister was wearing. Philly placed her fists on her hips.

"What's wrong with this?" She demanded. Adam smiled and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Just take Joe's word for it. Now go inside and get a dress on." He said and pushed her toward the house. Philly pouted and went inside angrily. A half-hour later, Philadelphia came back out in a white dress with a jade green sash across her middle. Her blonde hair was let to lie in its natural curls on her shoulders.

"Pa, how am I supposed to ride like this?" Philly demanded. Joe and Adam laughed.

"You're not riding a horse, you're going to ride in the wagon." Hoss explained. Philly rolled her eyes and hopped up onto the hay bales. Joe laughed and jumped up beside her. Adam and Ben got into the seat in front of them.

An hour later, the wagon rumbled into town and stopped in front of the general store.

"Stay here, Philly." Ben said and led Joe and Adam into the store. Philly crossed her arms and tried to pout, but her surroundings were too irresistible. Carefully she climbed down from the wagon and began to walk down the street. A loud shout came from one building and a man fell through the swinging doors. Philly laughed and ran to see what was going on.

The man ran back inside, only to be thrown out again. When he tried to go in a third time, Philly saw the man's attacker. The tall woman came out and pushed the man back to the ground. Philly smiled at the sight of a woman in leather britches carrying a gun. The woman caught her smile.

"What're you looking at?" She demanded.

"Just admirin'." Philly answered.

"Admirin' what?"

"I wish I could wear britches off of the Ponderosa." Philly laughed. The woman's eyes widened.

"The Ponderosa? Wait, are you a Cartwright?" The woman asked. Philly nodded.

"Yup. Why? Are you looking for work?" She asked. This woman couldn't be bad at riding.

"Well, yeah. I was told the Ponderosa was almost always hiring."

"That depends on who's applying for the job." Adam said as he came up behind Philadelphia. "I thought Pa told you to stay put." He whispered to Philly. Before she could say anything, the woman spoke.

"I'm not a criminal. I'm just a girl looking for some honest work. I was thinking that maybe someone in this town could use a maid, or someone to help with cattle, or something.

"So, what d'ya say, Adam?" Philly asked. Ben and Joe finally joined them.

"Who's this?" Ben asked. The woman walked forward and held out her hand.

"The name's Tetrison. Rose Emily Tetrison. I'm just askin' these two about a job." Rose answered.

Ben nodded and shook her hand.

"Well, I'm Ben Cartwright. So all job decisions would be up to me. What are your qualifications?"

"I can cook, ride, clean, herd, anything little odd job you need done." Rose answered. Ben thought for a moment. Adam and Little Joe both looked at Rose through suspicious eyes.

"Alright. You're hired."


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, I'm afraid that this chapter will stray a bit from Philly and will concentrate more on the relationship of Rose and Hoss. **

**I do not own Bonanza, just the characters Rose and Philadelphia. **

Hoss smiled to himself when he heard the hoof beats. Philly was probably making a stir just over ol' Virginia City. Slowly and gently he let the horse' hoof that he was cleaning drop to the ground and straightened up.

"Hoss!" His pa called. Hoss grinned and jogged around to the front of the house. Ben Cartwright was smiling as he helped his daughter down from the wagon. "There you are. There's some one who I think you should meet." Hoss' brow creased in confusion.

"Who?" Hoss asked. Almost on cue, Rose hopped down from the back of the wagon and strode over to shake Hoss' hand heartily.

"The name's Rose. But y'all can call me Rosie." She announced. Joe and Adam snickered but Hoss' eyes lit up with interest.

"Well I'm Hoss. Nice ta meet'ya." He answered. Rose whistled and took a step back.

"You sure is a big feller, ain't ya?" She laughed. Hoss nodded.

"Yup. I get it from my ma, I think. I couldn't be from my Pa. He's too tiny."

"Alright, alright. Maybe we could take up this conversation inside. It's about time for supper." Ben Cartwright cut in, laughing. All in a merry mood, they entered the house.

The stars shone bright over the Cartwright house. Hoss, Philly, and Rose all stood outside, having a fun time finding shapes in the stars.

"Oh! See that frog?" Rose yipped excitedly. Philly laughed and nodded. Hoss smiled. For some reason he didn't feel much like laughing. In fact he felt downright sick. But he didn't want to rain on Philly and Rose's parade like Joe and Adam had. After a half hour more, Philly began to yawn.

"Philly, you ought to go in to bed." Hoss scolded. Philly rolled her eyes then kissed him on the cheek and started to run inside, but stopped just before closing the door behind her.

"Oh, Hoss? Could you show Rose where she's to sleep. It's closer to your room than mine." She asked, then ran inside. Hoss chuckled to himself. Then he turned around to Rose.

"I'll be." She said, a laugh in her voice. Hoss' face reddened.

"What?" He asked, a little too quickly.

"Nothin'. I was just thinkin' that this is one close family." Rose said soberly. Hoss was intrigued.

"What's your family like?" Hoss asked as the two began walking. Rose laughed, but Hoss could tell that she wasn't really happy. "Sorry. Didn't mean to pry." He apologized.

"Oh, you're fine. You're pa's my employer so you might as well know where I came from." Rose rationalized. More to herself than to Hoss. "My ma was a drunk. Odd isn't it? She would drink until she couldn't sit up. Eventually she drank herself to death." For a second she paused, took a deep breath, and smiled at Hoss.

"Miss Rose, if you don't want to..." Hoss began. But Rose waved him off.

"She drank because of my uncle. See, after my real father died when I was three, she married his brother. My uncle was a horrible man. He brought 'aunties' right into our home. He wouldn't let my mother even enter the room she had once shared with my father. About a week after my ma died, I fifteen, he lit out and never came back. That coyote took every bit of money I had to my name with him." A dangerous light came into Rose' eyes and Hoss felt sure that he wouldn't ever want to be an enemy of this woman. For some reason he thought of Philly. She always had a way to rub some people wrong.

As quickly as it had come, the violence in Rose disappeared.

"Once my uncle was gone, I figured that I'd set out myself. That was about a year ago. Now I guess I'm stayin' here. And I wouldn't say I've done so bad." She finished. Only now did she realize that they were outside a door. Hoss opened it for her and motioned for her to enter it.

"Breakfast will be at five o'clock. Good night." Hoss said then closed the door behind him.

_**I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Now someone pointed out to me my error in the first chapter about Adam's mother. I'd like to apologize here for it and just say that I was only stating what my sources had told me. Now that I know the truth I won't make that mistake again. Again I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and the ones that will come. **_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, it's me again. Sorry I've been posting so little lately, but summer seems even busier than the school year. This chapter heads on back to Philly so I hope that Sarah Victoria Cullen enjoys it. ;) Oh, I think that I should mention that about a year has passed since the last chapter, in the story I mean, so, despite the fact that Philly is still her usual, crazy self, Rose and Hoss' relationship has matured. (WARNING: This chapter contains some material that may not be suitable for children under the age of 13.)**

Philly woke early in the morning, the sky was barely light. She pulled on her riding britches and grabbed her boots as she ran out the door. She ran down the stairs and once she reached the bottom, she hopped on one foot while trying to pull on a boot on the other foot. By time she made it to the front door she had successfully pulled the boot on and commenced to repeat the same process as she hopped down the porch and toward the barn. At the end of the porch she tripped and felt herself begin to fall. Philly looked where she was going to fall and saw the spike Hoss and Rose used for horseshoes. Philly closed her eyes and felt two strong arms support her weight.

When she opened her eyes again she found herself looking up at a young man, roughly her age, looking down at her with concern. For a second Philly smiled, but then she realized that she must look like a fool, for she was still clutching her one foot. She pushed herself away from the young man and tried to regain her composure, though her face was a bright scarlet. The young man couldn't help but chuckle to himself, which made Philly even more angry/embarrassed.

"Who are you? What are you doing on our land?" Philly demanded. The young man held his hands up and smiled.

"The name's Sam Kirby. Your brothers hired me yesterday. They never told me that had a cute sister." Sam said warmly. Philly's green eyes widened and she thrust her nose up in the air and marched to the barn. Halfway across she tripped over a feed bucket and tumbled to the ground. Before Sam could even move off of the porch to help her Philly was up and mumbling under her breathe. She kicked the bucket viciously and looked back at Sam, to see if he was watching. When she saw him laughing she stuck out her tongue at him and stormed into the barn. A few moments later Sam saw her come out mounted on her horse and she galloped out of view.

"Up kinda early, aren't you?" At Joe's voice Sam turned around and saw Joe standing not four feet behind him, his hand on his gun. Sam's eyes narrowed.

"Just ready to work." He said slowly. Joe motioned to where Philly had gone with his eyes.

"What were you two doing out here?" He asked. Sam became defensive.

"We weren't doin' anything. She tripped and I helped her. That's about the length of it." Sam declared. Joe's suspicion wasn't set aside, though.

"It didn't look like that from inside that window." Joe said through gritted teeth. Just as Joe tightened his grip on his gun, Adam came up behind him.

"What's goin' on here, Little Joe?" Adam asked. Joe turned around to face his brother.

"This man was trying to wrap his arms around Philly." Joe accused. Sam's short temper flared.

"That's a lie!" He declared. Joe turned back around and stuck his finger in Sam's face.

"Oh really? So why did I see you cradling my little sister in your arms when I walked downstairs? Why did she leap out of your arms and storm away?" Joe shot back. Adam placed hi hand on Joe's shoulder. His eyes were steady as he looked at Sam.

"Is this true Sam?" He asked. Sam shook his head.

"No, well, yes that did happen, but not like Joe made it out." Sam wiped the palms of his hands on his jeans. "She was falling and I caught her. If I hadn't she would have gotten hurt on that spike over there. And she got embarrassed and ran away. I wasn't trying anything."

Adam nodded and smiled.

"Alright. How about you go for a ride and cool down before you come in to work. Joe, I'm gonna need your help with the cattle today." With that Adam and Joe turned around and left Sam behind. Sam waited for a moment and then went to the barn.

Philly closed her eyes for a moment as she began to hear the early morning sounds of Virginia City. Her horse was exhausted, she had gotten the young stallion to gallop most the way there and now they both were grateful for the slow walk. As soon as her lids closed the fair face of Sam Kirby entered her mind. For a moment Philly remembered his corn colored hair and his sun-tanned face. His ice blue eyes that seemed to hold a smile entranced her. But as soon as she realized what she was doing, Philly actually slapped herself in the face and shook her head.

"Don't go turnin' into Rose." She told herself. She had hated it when Rose and Hoss had begun 'courting'. All Rose would talk about was Hoss' kind nature and his doe brown eyes. Philly already knew all that about her big brother and it didn't seem so amazing to her. She and her horse came over the hill and saw Virginia City laid out before them. Usually Philly would stop and look at the pretty sight for a few moments, but today her mind was preoccupied. She stopped at the General Store and bought a few cartridges and some more flour and sugar then left. Philly stopped and dropped a letter off to her pen pal in New York City and then rode out of town. She headed off in the opposite direction of the way she had come in, toward the empty fields that eventually lead to the Ponderosa. After about an hour of riding, Philly stopped and let her horse rest. She pet his black head and then unsaddled him. The two rested for a while, until Philly heard hoof beats coming closer. Quickly Philly began saddling the stallion and just as she saw the rider coming up she finished fastening and began to mount. But two strong hands grabbed her middle and pulled her back. Philly twisted around and saw a large man whose beard was about two weeks old. His blue eyes were cold and fiery at the same time. He smiled and whispered in her ear, pinning her arms against her sides.

"Are you gonna be a good girl, or a bad girl?" He said. His hot, sticky breath on Philly ear made her want to be sick. She kicked back and hit her attacker's thigh, but he didn't even flinch. "Bad girl, huh?" He laughed. Then he called for someone named Bud. Another big man, bigger than the one already holding her, came out of the shadows. Philly realized that this was the man she had seen riding up. Bud came up to her and twisted her head around, her chin pinched in between his fingers. Philly looked up at his face and saw his high, Indian looking features, stretch as he smiled. He pulled a coin from his pocket and flipped it, then asked his friend to call it.

The man holding Philly said heads, the coin had landed on heads. Fear filled Philly's entire being as she realized there was no one who was going to save her. As a last resort she began to squirm and scream and kick, but Bud grabbed her legs until the other man had her on the ground, straddling her.

Sam heard one short scream and then it was cut off. He recognized it as a woman's scream and he and his horse galloped across the fields. Another scream told him where he wanted to go. Within a half-hour of galloping and on and off screams, Sam found what he was looking for. He saw two big men hunched around a woman lying on the ground. One was messing with his pants and the other was messing with the girl's...britches. Sam's eyes widened when he recognized the britches and the horse tied off to the side. Without thinking, Sam pulled his gun and shot into the trees. The bigger of the two men looked up and scrabbled for his gun. As soon as he got it in his hand and aimed it, Sam shot him twice in the chest. He reloaded and killed the other as well.

Once they were both dead, Sam rode down the small hill and leapt off his horse. He kneeled down beside Philly, whose eyes were closed and had sweat beading on her forehead. Sam awkwardly fixed her britches and her shirt then picked her up in his arms. Her eyes opened and she hugged him, tears streaming down her face.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, though he knew that it was a stupid question. She obviously was very frightened.

"I can walk." She said and Sam put her down. She doubled over and was sick for a minute. Sam pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and let Philly wipe her mouth.

"Here, get up on my horse." He said. Philly looked back at her own horse and began to walk over to him, but Sam steered her to his own. "No, we'll come back and get him later, I promise."

Sam rode into the Ponderosa and carefully helped Philly down. Sam, wanting to get Philly help quick, picked her up and ran up to the house. He opened the door and walked into the living room.

"Ben! Adam! Hoss! Little Joe!" He called trying for at least one of the many Cartwright boys. Ben came in from the kitchen and stopped in his tracks when he saw Sam holding his little girl.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ben said, venom in his voice. Sam explained the situation and Ben took his daughter from Sam. He helped her to stand up and asked to explain.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy." She cried. She just couldn't bring herself to say the words. "I-I...they...Oh, Daddy!" She collapsed into tears and Sam felt completely helpless as he watched Ben Cartwright try and help his daughter. Then an idea came to him.

"Mr. Cartwright, do you want me to fetch a doctor?" Sam asked. Ben shook his head.

"No, I want you to get Little Joe to fetch a doctor. Bring Hoss and Adam here." Sam nodded and did as he was told.

Adam paced the floor and Hoss was in a fit. Never had Philly seen Hoss so angry. Rose sat next to her and was holding her hand and petting her hair. The last thing Philly wanted to do was be touched right now, but she didn't want Rose to just feel helpless. Adam turned to Sam.

"And you said that you killed both men?" He asked. Ben had gone to get the sheriff. Sam nodded from where he stood in the corner of the room.

"I would've gotten there faster if her screams had been..." Sam paused; he realized Philly was listening intently. "...A little more consistent." The door opened and the doctor came in, followed by Little Joe. The doctor walked over to Philly and asked her if he could examine her upstairs. Philly couldn't make herself look him in the eye. Again the door opened and this time Ben came in. The doctor looked up at Ben, then back to Philly.

"You can have someone in the room with you, if that makes you feel more comfortable." He said. Philly nodded.

"Daddy? Could you...?" Ben nodded in answer. The Philly turned to look at Sam. "Sam Kirby. Would you please?" She asked, a begging tone in her voice. Sam seemed surprised, as did everyone else in the room.

"S-sure." Sam said.

Two months later, the doctor confirmed Philly's worst fear. She was pregnant. Sam had been right by her side when she found out. Since he had redeemed himself in the eyes of the Cartwright family, he had helped Philly through every step of the way.

**Okay, this chapter was a little intense, and I apologize for that, but I wanted to have Philly go through some major test, and we'll soon see how well she does.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Okay, so it's been a while, and I know towards the end of the last chapter that I kinda rushed through, so I've decided to go through some sub-plots in between. This story is about Little Joe's suspicions of Sam Kirby, right after the doctor found that Philly had indeed been…taken advantage of. Hope you enjoy and Please Review!**_

Sam leaned against the wall in the room upstairs. The doctor had Philly's legs spread and a blanket overtop. Ben was holding her hand and she was crying softly. Never had Sam gotten so accustomed to a person so fast! This little girl just showed up and Sam felt like a bull being lead from a path of slaughter to the pasture. That was the best he could explain it. After a few moments, the doctor stood straight up and nodded solemnly to Ben, who tensed.

Back downstairs; Little Joe was in a fury. He was pacing and he had pulled down the fencing sword and was slashing the air violently.

"How can you be sure?" Adam tried to reason with his younger brother, though it never really worked. Joe pointed the sword at him.

"I'm just sure. I know he's the one who did it. You can't trust him." Hoss scoffed at his brother's assuredness and shook his head.

"Little Joe, you are so full of-." But he was cut off when the door upstairs opened. Sam Kirby came down the stairs. He was crumpling his tan hat in his gloved hands and his eyes were downcast. Little Joe approached him and jabbed the tip of his sword into Sam's chest. Sam looked up and smacked the sword away. Anger filled his eyes, though Joe mistook it for fear.

"What do you want?" Sam asked. He kept his tone of voice guarded.

"I want the truth." Joe snarled. Sam looked at him with confusion.

"What on God's earth are you talking about?"

"I think that you were the one who hurt my sister." Joe's face was contorted with rage. Adam and Hoss' faces filled with surprise, they had never seen Joe so angry. He looked like a mad dog.

Sam felt like knocking Little Joe on his butt, but he knew that he was outnumbered. If he were to attack a Cartwright, he would never work there again. But the idea of him hurting Philly was so preposterous. He couldn't ever do that to ANY girl, let alone the daughter of his employer. He needed to stay at the ranch to be able to collect information for the gang hanging out in the bush. If he got fired, they would not only most likely be arrested, but they would kill him. Quite literally.

"What is wrong with you?" Sam demanded. "I have never done ANYTHING to you except break a stallion faster than you."

"The other day I saw you pull a gun on my brother." Little Joe said with certainty in his voice. It was true that while they were looking for the gang of bank-robbers, Hoss had come a little too close to the hide-out. Sam had only had his hand on the butt of the gun and Little Joe had come riding up behind him. But Sam didn't think he would have really shot the bigger man.

"I already told you that was because I heard someone come ridin' up without heed and I just wanted to be safe." He lied. He was good at lying. Everyone except Little Joe had accepted that story and were content. Little Joe wasn't.

Joe tossed his sword across the room so it ended up in the wall and took a step closer to Sam.

"I swear. I will see you dead for what you've done to my sister." With that he stormed out of the house and jumped on his horse and rode off. Rose ran after him. Adam walked up to Sam while Hoss pulled the sword out of the wall.

"You know that we don't really believe that." Adam tried to say. But Sam would have none of it. All his life he had been plotted against and he was too used to it to bear it any longer.

"I can't believe that can I? I'll be out herdin' the cattle, unless you can't trust me there either?" With his words filled with venom, Sam left.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Yep, there's more! More of the confusion, disillusionment, and craziness that the Cartwright family seems to go through every day. Hmmm, will Sam earn trust? Will he prove that he doesn't deserve it? . I'm too excited! Let's find out!**_

Sam looked out over the cattle in the small valley. They all seemed to be grazing peacefully and Sam longed to sap that feeling of security to ease his insulted pride. Worry for Philly creased his brow as he retreated into his own mind. He thought about the gang and how they treated him when he had been run out of his old home town. They had welcomed him like brothers, though Sam soon learned not to trust any one of them. Always there was a man with a bullet at his back and a gloved hand in his pocket. It was when Sam had beaten a man who tried that on him that Sam was promoted to Second Pistol. Now he only took orders from the gang's First Pistol, Cash. Cash was the most ruthless of men, throughout the gang there were rumors of Cash shooting his own mother and baby brother when she had threatened to turn him in to the sheriff for selling off their cattle he had no right to.

As Sam thought of Cash, he swore that he saw that very man ride up the hill opposite him. Fear struck him and he didn't know what to do. But when he focused his eyes he saw that it was only Rose. She was galloping toward Sam and a sudden urge to run came to Sam's mind. He shook his head. Why on earth should he be afraid of Rose? That was like being afraid of Hoss or Adam. He gritted his teeth as he steadied his horse when Rose finally came up to him.

"Hello." She smiled unusually broad. She turned to pull something out of her saddlebags and Sam watched warily.

"Hey." He answered as she pulled out a water satchel. She tossed it across to him and smiled as she did so.

"Philly sent me out here with this. She said she's gonna have a talk with Little Joe." Her voice was deep and kind of rough, but in a gentle, motherly way. It occurred to Sam that Rose seemed distant and that she had taken up knitting. And she and Hoss weren't even married yet! He wanted to open his mouth and ask her, but thought better of it. He nodded and went to take a swig of the water. "Do you want to go ride around and cool off? I can watch the herd." Rose proposed.

Sam liked the idea and thanked Rose as he rode off. He knew he needed to contact the gang. He knew that they were hiding out in the old Rail House nearby. So he rode. He rode at a steady trot most of the way, so he could get there before noon.

When he arrived, Sam tied his horse in the woods nearby and ran across the open field to the Rail House. Up on the porch he knocked three times, the signal. The door opened and Sam was jerked inside. In the coolness of the abandoned building, Sam had to wait for his vision to adjust. While he did that, he slapped away the hand that had jerked him.

"I know how to walk!" He exclaimed. The rough laugh of Cash drew his attention.

"Course you do, Son. But you ain't walkin' fast 'nough." His rank breath caused Sam to close his eyes for fear of watering. He sat down and propped himself up against the wall and exhaled. About seven men sat around him, all which remained of the once glorious gang. It used to be that the gang was made up of forty plus men on any odd day. But hangings had cut that number by more than three quarters. "What's goin' on outside?" Cash asked. Then Sam opened his eyes and they shone with anger.

"You let Sandy and Injun out didn't you?" He asked. Cash caught his breath.

"Yeah, and they ain't come back yet." He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Because I killed them both. They were raping the daughter of my employer. I had to." Though he had known who the men were, Sam still hadn't given up their names. If he had, then all the other information about the gang would soon be revealed and that included the fact that HE was involved as well. Cash picked him up by his collar and flung him across the room. Sam crashed into a smaller man named Whimper and a bunch of metal rails. The metal bruised his back and caused Sam to gasp for air. Whimper pushed the younger man off.

"And WHO gave YOU the RIGHT to kill off my BEST killers?" Cash roared. He pounded over to Sam again. When he picked up Sam a second time, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor from the Water Satchel that was still in Sam's hand. Cash ordered the only educated man aside from Sam to read it out loud.

He cleared his throat.

Philly looked at Hoss and smiled. Her older brother was sitting by her bed reading to her stutteringly. He had never been an avid reader, but Philly always forced him to. She told him that was because she wanted him to be able to read his children to sleep. And Hoss accepted that answer, though usually grumbling.

"The…d-d-d…ayn…jerrrr…oh….uuuss…."

Philly smiled.

"Dangerous." She corrected and Hoss looked at her thankfully.

"The dangerous wolf att…attaaaa…attaaaack…oh! Attacked the un…sus…pec…t…ing…unsus…pecting…unsuspecting dog. More wolves followed him and the dog struggled…"

Philly smiled. "Very good."

Sam's throat itched as Cash held him against the wall of the room. He could barely breath.

"Dear Sam," The man began reading. Sam shuddered involuntarily as he realized that the letter was from Philly. "I want to thank you for saving me. I know that Little Joe doesn't trust you, but I do. Unfortunately, Little Joe has asked the Sheriff to search up your records to see if you are a criminal. He has this foolish idea that you are involved with the bank robbery. I guess what I want you to know is that I trust you.

Yours truly, Philly."

Cash turned his face to Sam.

"You've been getting' in close with those Cartwrights, haven't ya?" He growled. Sam opened his bright blue eyes wide. His vision was flexing in and out of darkness.

"Maybe we could use you as a bartering tool. Or this Philly. I'm sure they'd let us ride out without any lawmen on our tails if we had this little girl with us…"

Sam realized through the growing fogginess in his brain that Cash meant harm for Philly. He also realized that Cash was going to kill him. And what good would he be to Philly if he was dead?

"I'll do it…" Sam choked out. His face was turning blue and Cash was smiling his tobacco rotted smile. Cash loosened his hold on Sam, letting him drop to the floor. Sam stayed on his hands and knees, gasping and choking. He looked sideways up at Cash.

"Damn right you will. You'll go back to the Ponderosa and kidnap Philly and bring her to us. She might be…hehe…a real treat." Cash hinted and laughed loudly. Sam lowered his eyes to the wooden floor and sighed. How was he going to get out of this?

**Alright, that's it for now, and I hope that you enjoyed it. Umm, I'm sorry it took so long to update. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

Two months passed and Sam still hadn't made a choice. He had been back to visit the gang a few times, helped them rob a young politician once, but other than that stayed at the Ponderosa. He would go out riding often, most the time Rose would cover for him. Turned out Rose wasn't expecting like Sam had initially thought. But Philly grew bigger. Joe never let up on Sam, still certain it had been Sam who wronged his sister.

One day, after riding around to cool off, Sam came back to the Ponderosa walking his horse. He needed to move, get his blood flowing through his body so he could think. He couldn't take Philly to the guys. He knew that. But he also couldn't betray them. They were his brothers, in a twisted way. When he tied up his horse in the barn, he sighed heavily. He couldn't…

"Kirby!" Ben Cartwright took wide strides to meet the young man. Sam took a deep breath and held his head high. He couldn't let on he knew anything about the gang.

"Yes, Mr. Cartwright?" Sam asked, wiping his hands on his jeans. Ben smiled for a moment.

"Where you been, Sam?" Ben asked, crossing his arms. The man wasn't too tall, but there was an air of dominance about him. No one would want to be on Ben Cartwright's bad side.

"Rose took over for watchin' the herd, Mr. Cartwright. I went to ride off some steam before I came back here." Sam gulped. Now that he was saying it out loud, it sounded like a schoolboy excuse. His eyes searched his hands as he wrung his hat. Ben raised an eyebrow, searching for something in Sam's face.

"Well, it's never a good idea to bring your anger home with you. And I can guess that you must be pretty fired up." Ben let a small smile creep into his voice. Sam looked up in surprise. Little Joe must have told the patriarch his theory.

"Mr. Cartwright, I-" Sam began.

"Ah, ah, ah." Three staccato bursts of air stopped Sam in his tracks. "There is no need to defend yourself. I believe the story you told us. Little Joe has always had a temper. He's not that renowned of a fighter, 'cept with his sword. I would be glad that of the three, you've got Joe against you."

"Mr. Cartwright?" Sam said, his eyes downcast. He needed to talk to someone. Maybe, just maybe, Philly would be that person. She had been the one to send him the letter. "Could I see Philly please?"

"Philly? Kirby wants to see you." Adam announced through the door. "You decent?"

"Course I'm decent, Adam." Philly snapped. Outside the room, Adam looked down at Kirby.

"You sure you wanna see her now? Somethin's put her in a bad mood." He warned. Sam took a deep breath and nodded. He had to talk to her. "I think it was Joe, he came in there rantin' about how he was gonna avenge her or somethin'. They got in a fight." Adam continued as he walked down the hall. Sam turned to the door.

"Philly?" Sam asked as he slowly entered the room. Philly was standing in front of a full-length mirror, tying her hair back. She was dressed in riding clothes. Sam looked at her for a moment. "Where're you goin'?" He asked.

She didn't even turn to look at him. Instead she walked over to her bed and began putting her boots on.

"Close the door. If you're comin' in, come in. If you're leavin', leave." She snapped.

"Look, Philly-" 

"Philedelphia." Another harsh snap. Sam's face knit together. What was her problem?

"Miss Philedelphia, I'd like to talk." Now Philly's head popped up. Her green eyes glared right into Sam.

"Well, ain't that nice. Talk. That's all anyone around here seems to think I'm good for now, talkin'. Like I'm broken just cause I got a baby now." She growled. Sam looked at her belly. It wasn't much grown, but enough that he could tell. She had taken one of her father's pairs of britches to sneak out and ride in. Sam felt something stir inside him, like the truth was bubbling to get out.

"Look, Philedelphia, We don't all look at you that way."

"You don't? Well you'd be the first, Sam Kirby. I live in a house full of men with only one other woman for company. All those men see me as a child already, and now this? I'm a broken, unwanted woman who has lost all worth to any man. And my baby is already cursed to the same fate and she ain't even been born yet!" Philly exploded. She stood and looked Sam full in the face. "You should have let me die out there. What were you thinking?!"

Pent up anger roared in Sam's ears. He narrowed his eyes.

"Are you kidding me? I risked my life to save yours. I am still gettin' heat from your brother over all this. And you wanna blame me for your misfortune? I don't think so, Philly."

"My name is Philedelphia!"

"And I'll call you whatever I darn well please. I owe you nothin', Phil, nothin'!"

"If you had left me to die I wouldn't be in this mess!" Philly shouted, pointing her finger in Sam's face. A notion ran through his mind to slap her hand away, but he restrained himself. He had not hit a woman yet in his life and didn't plan to.

"If you would have just listened to your father and brothers you wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Oh, here's that old speech again! Just because I'm a woman I HAVE to listen to the men around me!"

"If you're gonna sit and bit—fuss about what happened because you didn't listen, then yeah." Sam said, calming down. Philly's eyes filled with tears. She sat down on the bed and cried. Sam, unsure what to do, sat beside her. He patted her on the back awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, Philly…delphia. I didn't mean to-" Sam apologized. Philly leaned into him, still sniffling.

"Don't." She cut him off. "It's my fault for getting so worked up. I, I'm just goin' crazy bein' stuck up here all the time." An idea popped into her head and she sat bolt upright and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Sam, could you take me out for a ride?"

A flash of Cash's face raced through Sam's mind. He sighed and then smiled at her.

"Sure, I know a perfect place for a picnic."


End file.
